Soulmates
Soulmates felt, or realized? An unperceivable force pulling the strings to find the one person meant for us or a conscious decision to choose?
Are we casting for the role of soulmates? Based on our own hidden biases, we hand them a script and watch as they perform. Auditioning lovers to fit the narrative that you’ve written - the story that you’ve told yourself since you were a little child on what your one true love would look like.
Or maybe you are the one, playing the part of a partner, part of a part of your partner till their departure, with nothing but a parting gift to remember the part of you that just wanted to see her lips parted.
We think of soulmates like magnets: You’re North, and I’m South. We will find each other, and once we do, we’ll never let go.
But that isn’t the case, is it?
We find and we fall, connecting to disconnect, growing together to a part.
What if soulmates were just vibrations? What if you and I are just vibrating at the same frequency, and we happened to meet, arriving at the same point? We superimpose each other, alternating between constructive and destructive interference. Pulsing beat. In and. Out. of. Phase. Till. Silence.
Soul’s Work
What does it mean for you to do the Soul’s Work?
I would imagine that the Soul’s Work would refer to the idea of A Calling.
What is a calling?
In Greek, there is a term epángelma (επάγγελμα); the Wikipedia etymology is as follows
Learnedly, from Ancient Greek ἐπάγγελμα (epángelma) (Hellenistic sense "profession", ancient "promise"), and semantic loan from French profession.
Synchronically analysable as επ- (ep-, “upon”) + αγγέλλω (angéllo, “Ι announce”) + -μα (-ma, ing). Cognate with Latin professiō (“avowal, public declaration”).
Combining the ideas of “promise” and “public declaration”, I believe that a calling is something that you announce. A calling reveals your true self - your soul. It is an outward announcement to the world, “I am here! I exist! And I have made my mark on this world! I have traveled every imaginable sea, fought monsters and demons, loved and lost, and sacrificed. I am here! To answer my calling!”
It’s strange don’t you think? A calling seems to imply a receiving motion, but yet, in our search for meaning, it is us at the helm, directing the ship through the waters, to a destination that we have chosen.
Are we being called, or are we calling?
To Be Called
“What in your life is calling you,
When all the noise is silenced,
The meetings adjourned...
The lists laid aside,
And the Wild Iris blooms
By itself
In the dark forest...
What still pulls on your soul?”―Melvana Rumi
The Soul’s Work is slowing down and watching, listening. Turning your physical senses inwards. Let your soul manifest on a physical plane. Observe the way your soul moves, and follow.
Souluble
Solubility is the property describing how much one substance (solute) can dissolve in another substance (solvent).
Solubility on a molecular level, results from the opposite processes of dissolution and precipitation happening at the same time (i.e. dynamic equilibrium; when the rate of forward reaction and the rate of the reverse reaction are equal, for a reversible reaction)
On an atomic level, could the same be said about our connections with other souls? We are souluble, and dissolving our soul-utes in other people’s soul-vents. Conversations and interactions, brief contact or a intimate encounter. Forward and reverse reactions, but the rate of it is equal, dynamic equilibrium is at play here, such that on the surface nothing seems different, but in reality, things are sparking.
And you don’t see it, but the property of my soul has already been changed.
Soul Space
Dance is extremely precious to me, and to be able to dance fills my heart with joy and gratitude. How grateful I am, to be able have limbs that allow me to move in a way that is mine and mine alone. But it’s more than just the act of dancing, it isn’t as romantic as “dance fills my soul”. Dance in itself is a struggle. Pushing the physical capabilities of a body, to move to some vibrations in the air that your brain identifies as “music”. To be a dancer is more than that.
To be a dancer is to be raw with what you feel, it’s to allow the vague soundwaves connect with a part of yourself that you don’t know existed. A body’s movement is only chained to the physical plane. To dance is to allow the soul to fly free of that.
So why haven’t we all connected with dance yet?
Because freeing the soul is a frightening task. Freeing the soul is to allow to be vulnerable, and to expose a part of yourself that you may not even have seen before. It requires introspection, and more importantly; a brave space.
There is a difference between a safe space and a brave space:
A safe space is one that is designed for a homogenous culture, optimising for comfort and harmony.
However in such spaces, there may be a lack of diversity. It’s important to not only cultivate an environment that is safe, but also one that is brave. Expecting difference, and optimising to foster respect for these differences
A sense of belonging is the first step towards a brave space, and is the reason why terms like “community” or “family” have such deep impact. We want to feel part of something bigger than ourselves, and we want to feel secure enough to be vulnerable, with the deepest parts of our soul.
I think to my own experience in dance, and there are so many times where I thought I had given up on it. But it is always the community, and always my friends that bring me back. The love and trust that I feel when I’m in a cypher, knowing that they got my back. That I can move freely, and they are pushing me, watching my soul’s vibrations.
Moving from a safe, to a brave, now to a soul. I would like to encourage everyone to actively approach building soul spaces for the people around you. To allow your soul-mates, feel vulnerable and brave. To own your own vulnerabilities as well, and learn to love yourself through others.
Soul Train
I am reminded of the show Soul Train, and it’s impact on the world in being able to be a commercial television programme by black people for a black audience, and was the one of the first to bring black culture to the world.
One of my favourite elements of my own dance scene are the cyphers. Cyphers can happen anytime, anywhere in a jam, and is basically just a circle, and you dance in the center. The energy in a cypher (in good company) is so awesome. And it’s something that seems to be universal in
Soul Train Lines are a little more “presentive” as compared to a cypher. Where the cypher is a circle, a Soul Train Line is directed towards the camera, as the dancer goes down the line to dance, sometimes in pairs. This was really fun, especially earlier this year in Singpore at a Soul Dance Party. I wrote a review about it on Medium here:
Soul XChange 1972: Boogie Night (Dance Event Review)
Soul Note
What captures your soul?
In the anime Death Note, the main character, Light, discovers a Reaper’s notebook that kills anyone who’s name is written in it. With the Death Note, Light takes on the role of Kira, or “Death God”, and begins killing people that he deems unworthy of living. Along the way, he faces off with the detective named L, and psychological warfare ensures.
Death Note is easily one of my favourite anime/mangas, and I think a lot about my note-taking process in opposite of Death Note. I’m trying to “kill” every single one of my thoughts, targeting them, capturing them and putting them onto paper. Whatever captures my Soul, I will write. So much that I often end up like this scene.
Soul Music
This newsletter post started from a 25 minute timer, to a full day of back and forth writing. The idea of souls have excited me for the past few weeks, and I have to thank my friends at the Interintellect for continuously inspiring me and getting soul much out of me.
I am especially proud of this piece of writing today, and am looking forward to doing more. Subscribe if you enjoyed it!